Enoch Arden law

noun

A law that grants a divorce, or a legal exemption to allow remarrying, when a person's spouse has been absent without explanation for a certain period, typically seven years.

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Meanings

nounEnoch Arden law (plural Enoch Arden laws)

plural Enoch Arden laws

  1. A law that grants a divorce, or a legal exemption to allow remarrying, when a person's spouse has been absent without explanation for a certain period, typically seven years.

Origin

Named after Tennyson's 1864 melodrama Enoch Arden.

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Cite this entry
APA

Enoch Arden law. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Enoch%20Arden%20law

MLA

“Enoch Arden law.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Enoch%20Arden%20law. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Enoch Arden law,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Enoch%20Arden%20law.

Source: Enoch Arden law on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.